Finally!

Teena and I FaceTimed back on April 12 to work on this month’s Winter Wonderland block. Teena finished hers that same day…

I got 3/4 of the way through mine and hated it decided it wasn’t living up to its potential. 😜

I prepped new pieces last week - it’s a good tv watching project - and sewed it up today. Much better. Pattern is ‘Baubles’ (here) by Full Bobbin Designs and included both the string and no-string versions. Love her patterns. 

Also, big changes are coming in… 5… 4… (Saturday. It’s happening Saturday.)

Steller’s Jay

Look at me, finishing the Birdwatchers Project pattern in the same month it was released. Haven’t done that since … October? 

This Steller’s Jay was less intricate than some (most?) of the bird patterns we’ve done. It was a fairly easy finish, with no major oopsies on my part. 

This is block #11 of 14, with only May’s Red-Shouldered Hawk and June’s Great Horned Owl - along with the Roseate Spoonbill I skipped over - left to do. So excited to be this close to done!

Another Finish

Way back in 2021, my pal Debbie and I made 4 (5?) National Parks quilts for the women in our crochet group. The plan for mine was to embroider around the block of each park hubby and I have been to together. 

Dark clouds but no rain for us.

We’ve used it on several of our trips and it’s been back-burnered often. I’d stitch a little here and there when I didn’t have another tv-watching project. Five years later, the 100 Days project has finally pushed it over the finish line.

 The embroidery is more noticeable in person.

At least until we visit another park…

Homeward

After spending yesterday eating, reading, snacking and napping (it was so nice!) today we headed home. We ‘accidentally’ managed to hit Carpinteria for lunch and as long as we were there….

The biggest and oldest Christmas cactus I’ve ever seen -so awesome - plus the 2” succulents that followed us home

Seaside Gardens (here) was our first stop. We’ve been there before - great selection, reasonable prices (much better than other stores in our area) and lots of pretty things to admire.

 Variegated snake plant

They didn’t have the thing I was looking for but we came away with a snake plant ⬆️, big ⬇️ and little cacti, plus a selection of planting pots. 

 The flowers on this Echveria will be orange! Can’t wait.

Gallop and Stribling Orchids, just down the road, was a big surprise. 

 Orchids everywhere 

I knew they had a plant and gift shop but didn’t realize they also had warehouse-size greenhouses packed full of orchids, with a nice sideline in succulents and air plants. 

 Bought more air plants and a piece of driftwood to display them.

Plus one of the largest orchid propagation labs in the US. 

It was amazing. 

We picked up a few things 

 How could we resist lime green orchids?

and if the orchids I already have survive, we’ll be going back for more!

 

Nature Walk

Pix from hubby’s morning walk through the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. How many bees can you see?

Sunset on the beach.

Time Out

We’re in Cambria for a long weekend, 

View from the west balcony

renting a house about a block from the ocean 

and across the street from the nature preserve 

 Downstairs

where Pop likes to go walking in the morning.

 Upstairs

My original 100 Days project is on pause, so I brought along the National Parks quilt I made in… 2021?!? 

Made a plan in 2024 (here) to embroider around each state park we’ve visited. It keeps getting put aside for other things but 100 Days may give me the push to finish it. 

 Traditional sunset-over-Cambria pic

At least until we visit another park…

 East-facing balcony. Love a house with a choice of balconies-with-a-view

 View from east balcony

Wildflowers #16

This block might be my favorite - definitely top 5 - and not just because it’s the last one. 

Decided the finished quilt should be wall-hanging-size, so 16 blocks are better than the original project’s 20. 

Tap or click the picture to open a better quality pic with lots more detail.

Next is squaring up the blocks and deciding on fabric for sashing around the squares. Have embroidery on the sashing? Still thinking ‘yes’, although I haven’t found the right design yet. Maybe bees? Or dragonflies? Bees and dragonflies?? Discovered I have a package of printable stick-and-stitch fabric in the stash so that opens up more design possibilities. Gotta think about it on the trip to Cambria. Suggestions welcome!